Damage control operations at derail site in Primorye to be completed by end of Thursday

VLADIVOSTOK, February 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Damage control operations at the site where 12 coal-laden railway cars swerved off the rails on Thursday morning are to be completed, according to preliminary data, by the end of Thursday, Alexander Artamonov, an official of the Far Eastern Railway (FER) press service, told Itar-Tass at the scene of the incident.

According to Artamonov, three pylons of the trolley system were damaged at the railway leg between Nakhodka Boets (trooper) Kuznetsov at the 157th km of Far East railroad. The repair work is involving considerable resources, including maintenance trains from Partizansk, Ussuriisk, and Pervaya Rechka Stations. Railway transportation between Vladivostok and Nakhodka has been interrupted.

"Passengers travelling from Nakhodka to Vladivostok and back will be transported by buses between the cities of Partizansk and Nakhodka. From Partizansk they will be able to get to their destination by an electric train. Bus runs will be matched up with the schedule of electric trains. Six runs are expected to be arranged," the FER official said.

The derailment on the TransSib occurred at 7:50, local time, on Thursday. The train consisted of 61 cars. The 12 derailed cars were in the middle of the train. According to preliminary data, the incident was caused by fracture of the side frame of a car bogie.

Russian Ministry for Emergencies said no one was hurt and there was no threat to the environment.

Law enforcement personnel is currently at work at the scene of the incident, as well as a commission, led by FER chief Mikhail Zaichenko, who arrived there from Khabarovsk.